Reading handout
The Greatest Rivalry in Sports Braces for Its Biggest Game Ever
Words to know
effigy
EF-ih-jeeQuote from the article
“an effigy of a player hanged outside a London pub”
What it means here:Furious England fans made a dummy meant to look like the player David Beckham and hung it up outside a pub to show how angry they were at him.
In general:An effigy is a rough model or dummy of a real person, usually made so people can mock, insult, or protest against that person.
More examples
- Every year the festival ends by burning a giant effigy made of straw and old clothes.
- The protesters carried an effigy of the unpopular mayor through the streets to show how angry they were.
sublime
suh-BLYMEQuote from the article
“a goal so sublime it became known as the “Goal of the Century””
What it means here:Maradona's second goal was so beautiful and skillful — he dribbled past five England players — that people were amazed and called it the greatest goal ever.
In general:Sublime means something is so beautiful, skillful, or impressive that it almost takes your breath away.
More examples
- The gymnast's final routine was sublime — the whole gym went silent, then erupted in cheers.
- Grandma's cooking is good, but her apple pie is absolutely sublime.
infraction
in-FRAK-shunQuote from the article
“one with his fist, an infraction that was missed by the referee”
What it means here:Punching the ball into the goal with his hand is against the rules of soccer, but the referee didn't see Maradona do it, so the goal still counted.
In general:An infraction is a breaking of a rule or law — usually a specific one, like a rule in a game.
More examples
- Talking during the fire drill is a small infraction, but you might still lose a few recess minutes.
- In basketball, stepping over the line on a free throw is an infraction that cancels the point.
Concepts behind the story
Proxy
Quote from the article
“even more bad blood had boiled over between the two countries following the 1982 Falklands War”
A proxy is a stand-in — something that takes the place of the real thing. In 1982, England and Argentina actually fought a short war over some islands in the ocean. They are not going to fight another war over a soccer game, but when their teams meet, the match becomes a proxy for all that old anger and pride. The game is really about who is the “better” country, not just who is better at soccer.
You see proxies all the time. When two friend groups can't stand each other, they might settle it with a basketball game instead of an actual fight — the game stands in for the real argument. That's a proxy: a smaller, safer contest that carries the weight of a much bigger one.
Redemption
Quote from the article
“England’s group-stage meeting with Argentina was decided by a single goal: a redemptive Beckham penalty”
Redemption is when you do something good that makes up for an earlier mistake — and changes how people see you. David Beckham was the villain in 1998: he got kicked out of a huge game, England lost, and furious fans hung a dummy of him outside a pub. Four years later, in almost the same situation against the same team, he stepped up and scored the winning goal. That one kick flipped him from “the boy who lost us the game” into a hero.
It works the same way at school or on your own team. If you drop the ball and cost your team the point, that moment can follow you around — until you make the game-winning play the next week. The mistake doesn't magically disappear, but the comeback is what people remember. That's redemption.
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